New immigration law to make it easier from foreign workers outside EU

Angela Merkel has begun pushing a new immigration law to make it easier from foreign workers outside the EU to find jobs in the country, but the plans have already backfired as many voters have already condemned the move.

The plan German chancellor will look to appeal to business leaders who have suggested Germany needs much greater flexibility to fill more than a million empty job positions

Merkel's recent epic meltdown following the intense criticism from thousands of German protesters unhappy with 'violent migrants' plaguing the country.

German citizens took to the streets in their thousands recently to protest the deadly stabbing of a 22-year-old German man at the hands of two Afghan nationals in the town of Chemnitz.

Express reports: They say this is because Europe’s most successful economic powerhouse has an ageing population and shrinking workforce.

But Ms Merkel’s push to fill a record number of vacancies risks angering many voters and right-wing politicians, who still resent her so-called open-door refugee policy that has been in place since 2015.

She spoke out on the issue in the Bundestag - the German parliament - last week. The German chancellor said: "We will continue to depend on foreign professionals. Companies should not be leaving the country because they can't find staff.”

She added many entrepreneurs were more concerned about hiring skilled workers than getting tax relief.

The new law, to be discussed by Mrs Merkel and her cabinet this month, aims to attract workers from outside the European Union.

They will, however, need a professional qualification and German language skills when applying for a work visa, according to a paper drawn up by officials.

Many in government will see this as a game-changer in the global race for talent since other countries are espousing stricter immigration rules. But it could anger voters who feel left behind after Mrs Merkel's decision to welcome more than a million refugees in 2015.

An opinion poll this month showed 51 percent felt her government did not take Germans' concerns about immigration seriously. In eastern Germany, the figure was 66 percent.

The unprecedented 2015 influx of asylum seekers, mainly from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, caused a great deal of public anger.

Deep divisions became apparent last month in the eastern city of Chemnitz, which saw violent far-right protests after migrants were blamed for the fatal stabbing of a German man.

Referring to Chemnitz, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union, Merkel's Bavarian sister party, described migration as the "mother of all political problems" in Germany.

There are regional elections next year in the eastern states of Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia, where the hard-right Alternative for Germany party is expected to make strong gains.

This could come at the cost of Mrs Merkel's conservatives and her centre-left coalition partners, the Social Democrats.

She may still escape a political backlash if she can convince voters the new law will address specific labour shortages and not increase overall competition in the jobs market.

Gero Neugebauer, a political expert at Berlin's Free University said:

”If she can credibly make the point that this is about Germany's economic self-interest, it won't fuel angst among those who already feel alienated in their own country.”